Serra steps up, survives a scare from Chaminade

You couldn't blame some of Serra's starters if they caught themselves and said, "Just what is this fourth quarter thing?"

With a string of blowouts behind them, even playing in the second half has been a strange experience for the Cavaliers starters. So imagine their surprise when they were a play away from going down 10 points in the fourth quarter Friday night.

They came up with a crucial fourth-down stop on their 2-yard line, then scored on three consecutive possessions to erase a seven-point deficit and score a 35-21 win over Chaminade in a Mission League showdown of unbeatens at Chaminade.

Connor Preston passed 63 yards to George Farmer to tie the game, then hit Marqise Lee on a 55-yard bomb to break the tie with 3:25 left as Serra (9-0, 4-0) took a huge step toward the league title with its 24th consecutive victory.

"They're going to come back and see us somewhere in the playoffs," said Serra nose tackle David Moala, who was an individual wrecking crew with two sacks in the fourth quarter. "It was great to play in a game like this in a big situation and come up with the big plays."

It came down to the fact that Serra had to have the big plays after three quarters of frustration against the Eagles (8-1, 3-1), who took a 21-14 lead on Terrell Newby's 57-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Chaminade was lined up for a field-goal attempt but Serra jumped offside. On fourth-and-2 from the 3, Moala led a charge that stopped Newby short of the first down.

Serra picked up some breathing room, and on first down from the 37, Preston fired long down the right sideline to Farmer, who beat the defense and completed the 63-yard scoring pass.

It was only the third catch of the game for Farmer, who finished with four catches for 80 yards.

"They were triple-teaming me all night and I told Connor, `Don't hesitate if you see me open,' and he hit me," Farmer said. "We actually got that together at halftime and we connected on it. We saw they were bracketing me, but what happened was the corner kept coming down to 5 yards and with my speed, I told Connor, `All I have to do is blow by him.'

"And the safety didn't see me go by. Once I got by him, it was a done deal. All he had to do was put the ball up."

Preston, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns, wasn't finished.

After a holding penalty put Serra in first-and-21, Preston threw a bomb down the left side for Lee, who pulled it in for a 55-yard score. Lee caught four passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns.

"I told Marqise they know a lot about me, and he's not on the map too much. He is on the map but more of a DB - and I told him they were going to be bracketing me and it was going to leave him wide open almost every play," Farmer said. "I told him to take advantage of it and do what you have to do to get the win."

Serra put the game away after Chaminade failed on a fake punt. Shaquille Richard scored on a 7-yard run with 1:54 left.

Richard, whose 66-yard scoring run in the first quarter tied the game, rushed for 131 yards on 11 carries.

"Our guys hadn't played in the second half in a while and all of a sudden they look at the fourth quarter and we're down," Serra coach Scott Altenberg said. "This group of seniors is amazing. They just keep playing and keep fighting. When it comes that time, they just know what to do. They're so relaxed."